Notation
Note: The tunes below are recorded in what
is called “abc notation.” They
can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with
your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then
“cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc
conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC
Convert-A-Matic” at

**Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s
Companion work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use
abc2win and abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct
cut-and-pasting. However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s
into the concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For
concertina.net’s conversion program to work you must remove the spaces
between all the lines of abc notation after pasting, so that they are
single-spaced, with no intervening blank lines. This being done, the F/C
abc’s will convert to standard notation nicely. Or, get a copy of
abcNavigator 2 – its well worth it.[AK]

I'll neer look down, nor hang my head

On Rebel whigs for a that

For a' that and a that

And twice as mickle's a that

Hes bonny oer the hill the night

That will be king for a that

***

From the
above lines it appears that the Lady Macintosh of the title was Lady Anne
Macintosh, also known as Anne Farquharson and Colonel Anne, married to the
Laird of Macintosh. It musthave been a
contentious union, for the laird supported the Hannovarians during the Jacobite
rising in Scotland in 1745-6, while Anne held for Bonnie Prince Charlie. She
even raised several hundred men to his service, although she did not personally
lead them. At various times she and her husband were both captured by their
respective foes, each time being released into each others’ custody.

***

The melody
was famously used by Robert Burns as the vehicle for his song "a man's a
man for a' that" by which the tune is now often known. Bremner (Scots Reels), c. 1757; pg. 52. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 523. Kerr
(Merry Melodies), vol. 2, pg. 17.

LADY MACINTOSHE'S REEL
[2]. AKA and see "Knit the Pocky." Scottish, Reel. D
Minor. Standard tuning. John Glen (1891) finds the earliest appearance of the
tune in print in Neil Stewart's 1761
collection (pg. 20). It appears in Robert Bremner’s 1757 collection as “Knit
the Pocky” (whose own “Lady Mackintosh’s Reel” is another tune). The melody
appears in the 1770 music manuscript collection of Northumbrian musician
William Vickers, about whom nothing is known. It is noted in two sharps in the
ms., but probably should have been in the minor mode. Seattle (William Vickers), 1987, Part 1; No. 73.

LADY MADELINA/MADALINA GORDON('S REEL). Scottish, Reel. F Major. Standard
tuning. AAB. Composed by William Marshall
(1748-1833), first published in his 1781 collection. Lady Madelina (1772-1847)
was the second daughter of the 4th Duke and Duchess of Gordon, who
married first Sir Robert Sinclair of Caithness and later Charles Fyche-Palmer
of Luckely Park, Berkshire. Marshall, Fiddlecase
Edition, 1978; 1822 Collection, pg. 54 and the 1781 Collection, pg. 6
(appears as "Lady Madaline Gordon's Reel"). Stewart-Robertson
(The Athole Collection), 1884; pg.
242.

X:1

T:Lady Madalina Gordon

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Reel

B:Stewart-Robertson – The
Athole Collection (1884)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s
Companion

K:F

CFAF CGBG|CFAF EF/G/ EC|CFAF CGBG|cABG F/F/F ~F2:|

fg/a/ fc dBcA|BGAF EF/G/ EC|FcAc FdBd|cfeg f/f/f ~fg|

afge fcdB|cABG EF/G/ EC|CFAF CGBG|cABG F/F/F ~F2||

LADY MADELINA PALMER('S STRATHSPEY). AKA and see “Mr. Lumsdane of Blanerne’s
Strathspey.” Scottish, Strathspey. D Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed
by William Marshall. Gow never affixed his name to
it, but did print it in 1791, some 30 years before Marshall published it‑‑the
reason: Marshall's airs were often in general circulation before being printed.
Lady Madelina was Madelina Gordon (1772-1847), the second daughter of the 4th
Duke and Duchess of Gordon. Her second husband was Mr. Charles Fyshe Palmer of
Luckley Park, Berwickshire (Moyra Cowie, The
Life and Times of William Marshall, 1999). See also note for “Lady Madelina Sinclair.” MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 37.
Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978;
1822 Collection, pg. 50.

LADY
MADELINA SINCLAIR. AKA – “Lady Madeline Sinclair.” AKA
and see "The Braes of Aberarder."
Scottish, Strathspey. A Major (most versions): G Major (Kennedy, Surenne). Standard
tuning. AB (Hardie, Kerr, Surenne): AAB (Athole, Glen, Gow, Honeyman, Hunter,
Kennedy, Martin, Skye). Lady Madelina Sinclair (1772-1847) was the second
daughter of Alexander, 4th Duke of Gordon, and William Marshall’s
employer and patron. Her second husband was named Charles Fyshe Palmer Esq.
(see note for “Lady Madelina Palmer”) of
Luckley Hall, Berkshire, whom she wed in 1804, however, her first husband was
Sir Robert Sinclair of Murtle, who died in 1795 when she was twenty-three.
According to Mary Robinson (Beaux and
Belles of England), the daughters of Alexander and his wife Jane, the
Duchess of Gordon, were far less beautiful than their mother. It was “to her
skilful diplomacy alone” that they married well and into fortune. “Lady
Madeline was not handsome,” writes Robinson, “but (was) extremely agreeable,
animated, and intellectual. Among her other conquests was the famous Samuel
Parr, of Hatton, who used to delight in sounding her praises, and recording her
perfections with much of that eloquence which is now fast dying out of
remembrance…” Palmer became the M.P. for Reading between 1818 and 1837.
Madelina is buried with her second husband in St James’s Church, Finchampstead,
Berkshire, England.

***

MacDonald,
in his Skye Collection, repeats the
composer credit Niel Gow (1727-1807) awarded himself which appears in the Gow's
Third Collection of Strathspey Reels
of 1792. However, Charles Duff had a
prior claim to authorship of (at least a prototype of) the tune under the title
"The Braes of Aberarder," which he earlier published in 1790
(Emmerson, 1971). The tune also appears in Angus MacKay’s c. 1840’s collection
of pipe tunes. Christine Martin (2002) notes the tune is also the vehicle for a
popular Scots song (albeit with sometimes bawdy words) in the Gaelic puirt a beul tradition, called “A’ bhean a bh’aig an
taillear chaol” (The skinny tailor’s wife).

LADY MAISTERTON. AKA and see "The Wood Hill."
Irish, Air (3/4 time). G Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AB. O'Sullivan (1983) can
find no record of a family named Maisterton (which is a Scottish name), though
there is "Woodhill or Knocknakillew" in County Sligo. Source for
notated version: Bunting states "Lady Maisterton very ancient. From Martin
a harpress in County Cavan," though the index to his 1840 edition says the
tune was noted from "C. Martin, harper at Virginia, 1800."
O'Sullivan/Bunting, 1983; No. 9, pg. 14.

LADY MARGARET
LINDSAY'S MINUET. Scottish, Minuet (3/4 time). This
and a companion tune ("Lady
Anne Lindsay's Minuet") were composed by Kelly around 1768 for the
Duke of Balcarre's daughters, then aged 17 and 15. The usual practice of naming
such tunes was from musician to patron, but Johnson (1983) points out that
Kelly was an aristocrat himself who having a private income had no need of
patronage. In addition he was a neighbor and second cousin to the girls, thus
the tune was written, as were other of his minuets, "for friends for
fun" (pg. 150).

LADY MARY LINDSAY. Scottish, Reel. C Major. Standard tuning. AAB. John Glen (1891) finds
the earliest appearance of the tune in print in John Riddell's 1782 collection (pg. 33).
The second part of this tune is the same as the first part of the Irish reel “Fisherman’s Lilt.” Glen (The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music),
vol. 1, 1891; pg. 10.

1st pair goes cross hands round with the 2d pair
then back again & casts off, then the 1st woman and the 1st
man leads up and sets to the 2d pair then leads down and sets to the
3d pair; then the 1st woman turns the 2d man
& sets to her partner, then turns the 3d man and sets again to
her partner who was doing the same on the woman's side: then reels at the
sides, & falls into their places.

LADY MARY MONTAGUE. Scottish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AAB. The tune was composed by
J. McDonald, and appears in the John Bowie
collection of 1789. One Lady Montagu (undoubtedly not the one for whom this
tune was composed, but perhaps illustrative of a family dancing tradition)
wrote from Vienna in 1717: "The ball always concludes with English Country
Dances to the number of thirty or forty couples, and [they are] so ill danced
that there is very little pleasure in them" (Emmerson, 1972). Glen (The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music),
vol. 1, 1891; pg. 29.

LADY MARY MURRAY. Scottish, Strathspey. G Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by Nathaniel Gow
(1763-1831). There are
two possibilities for the person of the title. One Lady Mary Murray’s family
were landowners in Crieff. She is remembered today in Lady Mary’s Walk. a
picturesque path along the River Earn. It was created by her father, judge and
statesman Sir Patrick Murray (1771-1837), the Laird of Ochtertyre, and was a
favorite of hers. There was also a Lady Mary Murry (d. 1814) who was also a
Lady Mary Murray who was a daughter of John, First Duke of Atholl. She married
a Reverend Martin (whose married name she took) and died in 1814. Sir Peter
Murray of Ochtertyre was a friend of Nathaniel Gow, and at the Edinburgh Ball
of 1811, he presented him with a fine violincello, among gifts from other
notables. Carlin (The Gow Collection),
1986; No. 102. Gow (Fourth Collection of Strathspeys & Dances), 2nd
ed., originally 1800; pg. 3. Stewart-Robertson
(The Athole Collection), 1884; pg.
176.

LADY MARY POWISS'S
MINUET. Scottish, Minuet. D Major. Standard
tuning. AABBCCDD. The melody appears in the Gillespie
Manuscript of Perth (1768) and in the manuscript collection of Colonial
dancing master John Ormsby, who transcribed it in Annapolis in about 1758.
Source for notated version: the music manuscript of Captain George Bush
(1753?-1797), a fiddler and officer in the Continental Army during the American
Revolution [Keller]. Keller (Fiddle Tunes from the American Revolution),
1992; pg. 11.

LADY MARY PRIMROSE'S
FAVORITE. AKA and see "Miss Joan Kier," "Sir Hendry's Strathspey." Scottish,
Slow Strathspey. B Flat Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Henderson (1935)
finds the earliest appearance of the tune as "Miss Joan Kier” in
Clarkson's Musical Entertainer (c.
1796), however, variants appear in T. Calvert's Collection (c. 1799) as "Sir Hendry's Strathspey," while Nathaniel
Gow (1763-1831) published it under the above title in 1800. Hunter also
says William Marshall's (1748-1833) "Invershire" has "a strong
affinity" with the tune. J. Scott Skinner (1904, Harp and Claymore) attributed the tune to Marshall, saying: “This
beautiful strain was composed by Wm. Marshall, and appeared in his collection
as ‘Invereshie’. Nathaniel Gow adopted the strathspey, reversing the strains
and altering the title. Peter Milne, whose services to Scottish Music deserve
warm recognition, did much to give the melody vogue.” The melody appears in print
in Clarkson’s Musical Entertainment, c. 1796.

***

Lady Mary Primrose was the 2nd
daughter of Neil, 3rd Earl of Rosebery and Mary Vincent, born at
Barnbougle Castle, Linlithgow, on the last night of 1777. Her brother was also an
Earl of Rosebery. She married a lawyer named Henry John Shepherd (1783-1855) of
Lincoln’s Inn in 1808, introduced to her, no doubt, by her brothers who were
Shepherd’s Cambridge school-chums. Henry continued his studies at Lincoln’s Inn
with her youngest brother Francis. She had an interest in philosophy and
published (as Lady Mary Shepherd) either two or three metaphysical works
(depending on the source), Essays on the Perception of an External Universe,
and other subjects connected with the Doctrine of Causation (1827) and An
Essay on the Relation of Cause and Effect (1824), in addition to a few
articles. These works were published a good deal after her marriage, and it is
only her daughter’s memoir that reveals that Lady Mary wrote many of these
works between the ages of seventeen and twenty-seven, ‘whilst still at
Barnbougle’, and published them later through the encouragement of her husband.
She was involved in a public intellectual controversy with a retired naval
officer turned philosopher, John Fearn, when she wrote several short criticisms
of Fearn’s book First Lines of the Human Mind. There was some
back-and-forth in various literary publications. She was also a subscriber to
the Geological Society of London, and was acquainted with Charles Babbage and
his literary circle. Lady Mary died at the age of 69 in 1847.

***

Lady Francis Jerningham wrote of
Lady Charlotte (to Lady Bedingfeld, May 29, 1800) in a letter:

***

Lady Charlotte Primrose’s [Mary’s sister] match was not
sanctioned by her parents. He is a near relation

of Lady Rosebery’s, and may become
Earl of Effingham, but has at present only his pay,

as Colonel in the Guards. Her Bands
were mutter’d over in the Parish Church, and she

walked out at the Half-Door, and met
Col. Howard at the end of the street, from whence

they proceeded to the altar of
Hymen.Lady Mary
[Primrose] will perhaps do the same, but

she is a sensible girl, and has very
good taste. I had a visit a few mornings since from Lady

Rosebery and her three daughters; we
were all seated when a pretty young man entered.

Lady Mary Coloured as red as fire
and I have since felt a partiality for her.

***

See also a strathspey composed for
her sister, Charlotte, by
John Gow.

LADY MARY RAMSAY('S)
[1]. AKA
and see "Sailor Ower da
Raft Trees" (Shetland), "The Auld Toon O' Edinburgh."
Scottish, Shetland, Canadian; Strathspey or Reel. Canada, Cape Breton. D Major
(most versions): G Major (Huntington): E Flat Major (Athole, Gow). Standard or
ADae (in the Shetlands) tuning (fiddle). AB (Cole, Honeyman, Surenne): AAB
(Gow, Howe, Hunter, Kerr, Martin): AABB (Huntington): AABB' (Skinner,
Stewart-Robertson): AABB'CCD (Skye). Lady Mary Ramsay was the daughter of
George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie, and married James Hay. Her
brother was William Ramsay Maule (see “Mr.
Maule’s Frolick”). Composed by Nathaniel Gow
(1763-1831), and attributed to Gow in the Fourth Collection (1800) and
in Part 4 of his Complete Repository;
it is one of his best-known compositions. "This tune...(appears) in James
Porteous's Collection and having his initials attached it is possible he may
have been the composer of it" (Skye). Renamed in the Shetlands (as "Mary Ramsay") and played as a reel,
for when the tune first circulated via [J. Scott Skinner's] gramophone records
which played at a higher speed than the original performance, it was assumed a
reel, as the Shetlanders had no knowledge of strathspeys in the country
districts (Alburger {1983} quoting the late Shetland collector and fiddler Tom
Anderson). The tune was printed in Lowe's First
Collection (1844). In Ireland the tune was a popular Highland fling and
reel, going under such titles as “The Four Provinces Fling,”
“The Queen’s Shilling,” and “Jamie Duffy’s Highland” (see “Lady Mary Ramsey [2],” below). A version in
the American Ryan’s Mammoth Collection (1883) can be found as “Forget Me Not [3].”

LADY MARY RAMSEY [2] (Beantigearna Maire Ramsei). AKA and see “Boy in the Gap,” “Forget Me Not [3],” “Kilkenny Boys,” “Miss Ramsay [2],” "The Queen's Shilling." Irish, Reel. G
Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Kennedy, O'Neill/1850): AA'B
(O'Neill/Krassen). Source for notated version: Francis O'Neill learned the tune
from an accomplished West Clare flute player (and Chicago police patrolman)
named Patrick "Big Pat" O'Mahony, a man of prodigious physique of
whom he said: "the 'swing' of his execution was perfect, but instead of
'beating time' with his foot on the floor like most musicians he was never so
much at ease as when seated in a chair tilted back against a wall, while both
feet swung rhythmically like a double pendulum" [O'Neill, Irish Folk Music].

***

“Lady Mary Ramsay” also is played in
Ireland as the third tune in a medley of flings called “The Four Provinces.” Peter
Kennedy gives “Boy in the Gap” as an alternate title. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and
Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 94, p. 24. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; p.
159. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903; No. 1536, p. 284.
X:1

LADY MILDMAY’S WALTZ.English, Waltz. A Major (‘A’ and ‘B’ parts) & A Minor (‘C’ and ‘D’
parts). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDD. The title perhaps refers to Jane
Mildmay (c. 1765-1857), who married Sir Henry Paulet St. John-Mildmay in 1786.
She apparently was a heiress, for Henry added the name Mildmay to his own in
1790. Lady Jane evidently was musical, for there is a portrait of her dating
from 1785, seated playing the harp. Goulding (Twenty Four Country Dances for
the Year 1808), 1808; No. 8.

X:1

T:Lady Mildmay’s Waltz

M:3/8

L:1/8

R:Waltz

B:Goulding & Co. – Twenty Four Country Dances for the
Year 1808 (London)

N:Reel with same name appears in Robert Mackintosh's four
collections of 1783-1803. http://www.heallan.com/mackintosh.html

M:C|

L:1/8

R:reel

B:Complete Tutor Violin
(c. 1815)

Z:Dr. Evan Jones [Ed.], 2005

K:C

c2 (cG) EFGE | c2 (cA) Bcde | c2 (cG) EFGE | Dddc Bcde :||

ccgc ec g2 | ccgc efga | ccgc ecgc | fedc Bcde |

ccgc ecge | ccgf efga | gefd ecdB | cAGE Ddde |]

LADY MONTGOMERY [2].AKA and see “Phelim’s Frolic(s).”Irish,
Reel. C Major. Standard tuning. AB. An Irish variant of Colonel Hugh
Montgomerie’s (1749‑1819) Scottish tune “Lady Montgomery [1]." New York musician,
writer and researcher Don Meade says the tune was recorded in the key of ‘C’ by
Donegal fiddler Hughie Gillespie in New York in the 78 RPM era, and later by
Andy McGann, Joe Burke and Felix Dolan under the title “Phelim’s Frolics” on
the “Tribute to Michael Coleman” recording.

LADY O’BRIEN’S REEL [2].AKA and see “The Honeymoon
(Reel) [2],” “Maid Who
Left the Country [1].” Irish, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning. AB. The
melody appears in Church of Ireland cleric James Goodman’s mid-19th
century music manuscripts. Goodman (1828-1896) was an uilleann piper, and an
Irish speaker who collected locally in County Cork and elsewhere in Munster. He
also obtained tunes from manuscripts and printed collections. Shields/Goodman (Tunes of the Munster Pipers), 1998; No.
96, pg. 41.

LADY OF THE LAKE [1]
(Bean Uasal an Loca).AKA and see “Billy the Barber (Shaved His Father).”English, Irish; Single Jig. England,
Northumberland. G Major (most versions): A Major (Kerr). Standard tuning. ABB'
(Kerr): (Shields/Goodman): AABB' (Hall & Stafford, Kennedy, Raven). The
title (and tune) is at least as old as Church of Ireland cleric James Goodman’s
mid-19th century music manuscripts. Goodman (1828-1896) was an
uilleann piper, and an Irish speaker who collected locally in County Cork and
elsewhere in Munster. He also obtained tunes from manuscripts and printed
collections. The melody (and title) appears in English and Scottish
publications later in the 19th century. There is a country dance
also called Lady of the Lake, but this tune was not associated with it in New
England in the early 20th century (see version #5). In fact, there are several
unrelated tunes called “Lady of the Lake,” a situation which stems presumably
from association with the dance of the same name. Hall & Stafford (Charlton Memorial Tune Book), 1974; pg.
10. Kennedy (Fiddler’s Tune Book),
vol. 1, 1951; No. 95, pg. 47. Kerr (Merry
Melodies), vol. 3; No. 223, pg. 25. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1986; No. 402, pg. 80. Raven
(English Country Dance Tunes), 1984;
pg. 113. Shields/Goodman (Tunes of the
Munster Pipers), 1998; No. 187, pg. 77. Stewart Robertson
(The Athole Collection), 1884;

LADY OF THE LAKE [5]. AKA and see “Gypsy Hornpipe [4],” “Miss Johnson’s Hornpipe,” “Old Towser,” “Portsmouth Hornpipe,” American,
Reel. USA, New England. G Major. Standard tuning. AB (Silberberg): AA'BB'
(Phillips). The New England contra-dance Lady of the Lake is set to this
melody, although other tunes have also been used as vehicles for the steps.
Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England,
1939) thought the dance itself was derived from the Weavers' Guild, although he
could find no specific citations regarding its origins. He notes, however, that
there is an old tune "Launcelot du Lake" attached to a ballad founded
on the romance of Sir Launcelot du Lake, and speculates it may be the dance and
tune originated from that source. Regarding the music itself, “Lady of the
Lake” is a wide-spread melody whose melodic material crops up often: the first
strain of the tune also appears in Ryan/Coles as “You
Bet Reel” and “Silver Cluster
Reel.” A Missouri title is “Gypsy Hornpipe.” See Bayard Hill Country
Tunes “Buttermilk and Cider”
and the first strain of his No. 35. See also Irish variants in O’Neill—“Off to California,” and “Whiskey You’re the Devil.” Gary
Stanton of Fredricksburg, Va., has sleuthed the dissemination of the tune in modern
old-time circles, finding that it is originally sourced to two unnamed
renderings (one as a schottische, one as a polka) in the key of G recorded and
transcribed from the playing of Glen Lyn, Va., fiddler Henry Reed.Alan Jabbour visited Reed in the 1960’s and
researched much of his repertoire, teaching it to others. Bertram Levy picked
up the tune, still unnamed, from Jabbour when they both lived in Durham, N.C.
in the 1960’s and took it with him when he moved to Palo Alto in 1968, teaching
it to Marty Somberg around 1970. Somberg was Seattle accordion player Laurie
Andres source, who in turn taught it to New Hampshire fiddler Rodney Miller
(see recording cited below). Stanton wrote to Jabbour in the course of his
research on the tune, and received the reply:

***

Your account of the likely evolution of the
"Lady of the Lake" tune
sounds right. I didn't know about it till I was at the Lady of the Lake
dance camp in northern Idaho, and they asked me (Tommy Thompson was with
me, but not Bertram) to play their theme tune. I responded with a
different "Lady of the Lake" (in A, like Henry Reed's "Ducks on
the
Pond") and they looked quite crestfallen. Then Tommy and I hit on
the
unnamed Henry Reed tune in the course of just playing all our old
repertory, and they exclaimed, "That's it!" The year, by the
way, was
about 1990 or 1991…(posted to
Fiddle-L, 1/07/2004)

***

Jabbour suspects the name “Lady of
the Lake” became attached to the tune either through confusion with “Lady of
the Lake [6],” also played in Durham in the 1960’s, or by association as a
vehicle for the dance of the same name, as often occurs. Vermont fiddler Pete
Sutherland learned the tune from Laurie Andres and also had a part in
popularizing the tune, albeit played with a Southern inflection.. Paul Mitchell
notes that the melody is the third change of “Ticknor’s Quadrille,” recorded by
the Henry Ford Orchestra in the 1926, named for the grandfather ofClayton Perry (the fiddler in the group),
whose name was George Ticknor, or Ashtabula, Ohio.Sources for notated versions: Donna Hebert (Amherst, Mass.)
[Reiner & Anick]; Bill Christopherson (Conn.) [Phillips]; Cathie
Whitesides[Silberberg]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol.
1, 1994; pg. 134. Reiner & Anick (Old
Time Fiddling Across America), 1989; pg. 50. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned
at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 87. Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 123. Alcazar
Dance Series FR 204, Rodney Miller ‑ "New England Chestnuts 2"
(1981. Learned from accordian player Laurie Andres). Smithsonian Folkways SFW
CD 40126, Northern Spy – “Choose Your Partners!: Contra Dance & Square
Dance Music of New Hampshire” (1999). Mellie Dunham.

LADY OF THE LAKE [6]. AKA and see "Ducks in the Pond." Old-Time,
Breakdown. USA, Virginia. D Major/A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB
(Phillips, Songer, Wilkinson): AA’B (Silberberg).The melody appears under this
title in George P. Knauff's Virginia
Reels, volume III (Baltimore, 1839) and was played by J.H. Chisholm in the
Wilkinson Manuscript collection of Virginia
Tunes. This is a melody that is known as an old Virginia tune, a distinct
and unusual version of which was collected from Parley Parsons of Galax, Va.,
by Paul Brown, Alice Gerard and Andy Cahan. Hillsville, Virginia, fiddler Norman
Edwards also played a version. Alan Jabbour learned the tune from Joe Anglin,
in Martinsburg, Virginia, in the 1960’s, and consider’s Henry Reed’s “Ducks on
the Pond” a variant. In fact, many of the old-time versions span wide degrees
of variations, and it was fairly common among fiddlers in the Upland South.
John Hartford points out that Sir Walter Scott’s poem “Lady of the Lake” was
popular on the American frontier. Tonality of this tune varies: different
versions emphasize either the A mixolydian or D major chordal underpinning for
the tune. Sources for notated versions: Pete Sutherland (Vt.) [Phillips]; Greg
Canote (Seattle) [Silberberg]. Phillips (Traditional
American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 1, 1994; pg. 135. Silberberg (Tunes I
Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 87 (two versions). Songer (Portland Collection), 1997; pg. 122.
Wilkinson (Southern Folklore Quarterly),
vi, I, pg. 10. Epact Music, Pete Sutherland - “Eight
Miles from Town” (1982). Flying Fish 415, Bruce Molsky – “A. Robic and the
Exertions” (learned from Norman Edwards). Rounder CD 0392, John Hartford –
“Wild Hog in the Red Brush and a Bunch of Others You Might Not Have Heard”
(1996. Learned from J. H. Chisholm in the Wilkinson Manuscript collection of
Virginia Tunes). Hart & Blech (Parley Parson’s version).

LADY
OWEN'S DELIGHT. Welsh, Air. G Major. Standard
tuning. AAB. "The pedigree of the Owen family weaves intricately back and
traces itself in a family tradition to Canaanite lords of Shechem, the seed of
the god Baal. (Beli, the Celtic god, was a form of Baal.) It is curious the number
of links that can be found between ancient Britain and the shere of the Old
Testament. The tune here is probably late eighteenth century, a harper's air
which survived as a tune for songs (Williamson, 1976). The first Welsh
publications of the melody appear in the works of Blind Parry, where it is
included in his first collection of twenty-four ‘Arias’ (an un-named
publication), and in Twelve Airs for one
and two Guitars (c. 1760-65). A later edition of the latter work (1781)
gives the title as “Difyswch Arglwyddes Owne’s.” Williamson (English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle
Tunes), 1976; pg. 42.

LADY PEEL. Scottish, Strathspey ("Moderately Slow"). E Flat Major.
Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by William Marshall
(1748-1833). Lady Peel, says Moyra Cowie (The
Life and Times of William Marshall, 1999), was Lady Jane Lennox, who
married Lawrence Peel, the brother of Sir Robert Peel, the British Prime
Minister (who is remembered in the slang word for police officers—‘peelers’).
Jane was the daughter of the Duke of Richmond and Lady Charlotte Gordon, and
this was the connection to Marshall, who as Steward of the Household to the
Duke of Gordon knew Lady Charlotte intimately (see note for “Lady Charlotte Gordon’s Reel”).
Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978;
1845 Collection, pg. 33.

LADY RACHAEL RUSSELL. Scottish, Strathspey. F Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by William Marshall (1748-1833). Moyra Cowie, in her book The Life and Times of William Marshall
(1999) reports that Lady Rachel was born in 1826, reputedly the daughter of
Lady Georgianna Gordon, the Duchess of Bedford, and the famous artist Edwin
Landseer with whom she had a passionate affair. Lady Georgianna was then the
wife of John Russell, the 6th Duke of Beford, Woburn Abbey, who had
brought three stepsons into the marriage. (See also note for “The Duchess of Beford’s Cairn”).
Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978;
1845 Collection, pg. 7.

LADY SHAFTSBURY('S
STRATHSPEY). AKA – “Lady Shaftsbury Reel.” AKA
and see "Greenend Park," "Kelly's Goat." Scottish, Slow
Strathspey. E Flat Major (Gow, Howe, MacDonald, Stewart-Robertson): B Flat
Major (Wilson): A Major (Kennedy). Standard tuning. AB (Surenne): AAB (most
versions). Composed by Nathaniel Gow
although first published by Malcolm
McDonald, reprinted in the latter's Second Collection of 1797 under
the title "Greenend Park." McDonald was the bass player in Gow's band
at the time and probably heard him playing the tune, perhaps not realizing it
was composed by him. John Glen (1895), however, believes it was Gow who stole
the tune. “Lady Shaftsbury’s Strathspey” appears, set in the key of D major, in
the music manuscript book of John Rook (1840, pg. 196). The melody surfaced in
America as a fife air called "Kelly's Goat" (Bayard, 1981; No. 148,
pg. 82‑83), but was included under the “Lady Shaftsbury” title in the
music copybook manuscript of William Patten or around 1800 (probably from
Philadelphia). Howe prints the tune set as a reel. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 105. Gow (Third Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels), 1792; pg. 15. Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; pg. 146.
Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of
Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 99, pg. 25. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 131. Stewart-Robertson
(The Athole Collection), 1884; pg.
271. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland),
1852; pgs. 14-15. Wilson (Companion to
the Ballroom), 1815; pg. 61 (appears as “Old Scotch”).

LADY SOPHIE HOPE'S
MINUET. AKA and see "Lady Binnie's Minuet."
Scottish, Minuet. Composedby Robert Mackintosh, c. 1771. In 1779
the tune was renamed "Lady Binnie's Minuet" when Ms. Sohie Hope
married a peer. The name change helped inform the public of the match the young
woman made, and helped keep her name in the public eye.

LADY SUSAN GORDON'S
REEL. Scottish, Reel. B Flat Major.
Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by William Marshall
(1748-1833), first appearing in print in his 1781 collection. Lady Susan
(1774-1828) was the third of the beautiful daughters of the 4th Duke
and Duchess of Gordon, who married William Montague, 5th Duke of
Manchester, in 1793. Moyra Cowie (1999) records that Susan was a “wayward girl”
and later, after she had become the Duchess of Manchester, ran off with one of
her footman (according to a sharp-tongued Miss Grant of Rothiemurchus). She
left her husband the Duke in 1803, after bearing a number of children, and her
conduct was described years later by Lady Jerningham in 1813 as having been
“most notoriously bad.” Montague had financial difficulties, fairing poorly,
and finally secured an appointment as Governor of Jamaica, a post held for some
twenty years, during which he prepared the colony for the emancipation of
slaves, and dealt with the aftermath of hurricanes and a disastrous fire in
Port Royal. Despite the approbation of her aristocratic peers, other portraits
of Lady Susan are rather sympathetic (see Bulloch & Henderson’s Scottish
Notes and Queries, vol. XII, no. 3, Sept., 1898). She is described by one
who knew her as “one of the most vivacious and kind-hearted girls.” Arthur
Young, the agriculturalist and friend of the Duke and Duchess of Manchester,
fairly rhapsodised her:

***

The duchess pleases me as much or
more than any other woman I have met these

many years. Her character in every
worldly respect is most amiable. There is a native

ease, simplicity and naiveté of
character in her which delights me; and when I consider

the life of the Duchess of Gordon,
her mother the great patroness of every dissipation,

I am amazed at this
secluded young duchess, who never goes to London, who loves a

retired life, and is quite content
on a fortune very moderate for the rank of her husband.

She gave me her whole history, from
going one summer for weeks to drink goats’ whey

on the mountains many miles beyond
Gordon Castle, and running up and down the hills

barefooted, driving down the goats
and milking them, and being delighted with the place

and the life, though no human being
within many miles except the family and an old woman

of the solitary house. This was the
case with all of the girls. She never went to school, and

laid in a fine stock of health, and
with it a sweetness of temper and simplicity of character

which, joined with an excellent
understanding, contributed so much to form her as she is at

present, calculated to be a blessing
to her husband.

***

Young thought her happy in her
marriage, and in this he was mistaken. However the sketch in Scottish Notes
indicates only that she was unhappy and separated from the Duke, without even
hinting at anything so scandalous as a dalliance with a footman, which may have
been a bit of unfortunate slander. Still, Lady Susan’s two sons were sent away
to Eton, and her six daughters were raised in the home Susan’s mother-in-law,
the Dowager Duchess of Manchester, evidencing a family rift of some sort.
Susan’s eldest daughter, Lady Jane Montagu, managed to spend considerable time
with her other grandmother, Jane Maxwell, the Duchess of Gordon, “and used to
dance the Ghillie Callum and Shean Trews at the impromptu balls that her
grandmother used to get up at [her residence of ] Kinrara.” Unfortunately Jane
died young, of consumption. Lady Susan herself died in 1828 at Bedfont Lodge,
Middlesex, aged 54. She was interred at Kimbolton, attended by a son and
son-in-law. Her portrait in pastel, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, hung in Kimbolton
Castle (Cambridgeshire) as long as it was in the Montagu family (from 1615 to
1951, when it was sold to a school).

LADY
TO HER HUSBAND WHO WAS KILLED AT THE BATTLE OF CULLODEN, A. AKA ‑ "Mo rùn geal og." Scottish, Slow Air (3/4 time).
E Minor. Standard tuning. AB. "This air, with the original Gealic words,
is an impassioned expression of grief by a lady of the name of Chisholm, in
Strathglass, for the fate of her husband, who was killed in Culloden, and to
whom she had been but recently married. A set of this air is attemptedin the collection of the Reverend Patrick
MacDonald, but it will scarcely be recognized. It is, however, very generally
sung, and the editor is certain ot os now chastely communicated" (Fraser).
Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to
the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1874; No. 205, pg. 85.

LADY VEAUGH. Irish. Recorded by the Belfast
Northern Star of July 15th, 1792, as having been played by one of ten Irish
harp masters at the last great convocation of ancient Irish harpers, the
Belfast Harp Festival, held that week.

LADY VISCOUNTESS
DUNCAN. AKA – “Viscountess Duncan.”
Scottish, Strathspey. D Major. Standard tuning. AAB. The melody appears as
“Miss (Mrs.) Hunter of Blackness Strathspey” in the music manuscript of James
Webster, Alehouse Hill, New Deer, Aberdeenshire, begun in 1839. His manuscript
was in the possession of J. Murdoch Henderson, who made some comments and annotations.
Henderson indicates the tune was also in the published collection of Charles
Duff.

***

Viscountess
Duncan was born Henrietta Dundas, who married in 1777 Captain Adam Duncan
(1731-1804) of the Royal Navy—it was a fortunate match for him politically, as
Henrietta’s uncle became secretary of state for war under Pitt in 1794. The
couple had five daughters and two sons. She died in Edinburgh in December 1832,
and little is recorded about her life. Too typically, there is considerable
record of the males in her life. She was the second daughter of the Right
Honourable Robert Dundas (1713-1787), Esquire, 4th Lord of Arniston,
who was a Solicitor General for Scotland and later MP for Midlothian, and
finally, in 1760, Lord President of the Court of Session. He was the most
important person in public affairs in Scotland of his era. When he died Robert
Burns wrote a commemorative verse called “On the Death of Lord President
Dundas,” wherein he said:

***

O heavy loss, thy country ill could bear!

A loss these evil days can ne’er repair!

***

Burns was
a mature and well-respected writer when he penned the poem, which he
nevertheless admitted included some “commonplace” verses along with “others
rather hide-bound,” and he sent it off to the family, who ignored it. The poet
was incensed at being so slighted, and never forgave the insult. He later wrote
to a friend:

***

From that time, highly as I respect the talents of their
Family, I never see the name, Dundas, in the column of a newspaper, but my
heart seems straitened for room in my bosom; and if I am obliged to read aloud
a paragraph relating to one of them, I feel my forehead flush, and my lip
quivers. Had I been an obscure Scribbler, as I was then in the hey-day of my
fame; or had I been a dependent Hanger-on for favor or pay; or had the bearer
of the letter been any other than a gentleman who has done honour to the city
in which he lives, to the Country that produced him, and to the God that
created him, Mr Solicitor might have had some apology.

***

After
his marriage to Henrietta, Adam Duncan went on to make a name for himself as a
fighting commander. His most famous victory came at Camperdown in October 1797,
when he helped foil the French plan to aid the rebels in Ireland. The French
had leveraged their ally, Holland, into making a show of force with their
fleet, capitalizing on unrest in the English fleet following the mutinies at
the Nore and Spithead. The British North Sea Fleet was then commanded by
Duncan, who managed to intercept the Dutch and in a sharp and bloody fight
Duncan lost not a single vessel. The Dutch, meanwhile, lost nine ships of the
line and a number of frigates. Duncan was named Admiral Duncan, 1st
Viscount Camperdown, for his efforts and was feted by a grateful nation who saw
his victory as one of the most famous naval actions in history. A pension of
£3,000 was awarded to him by the government, the largest ever awarded. Finally,
he was made Baron Duncan of Lundie, his family home on the Perthshire-Angus
border. Adam Duncan, and presumably Henrietta, are buried in the little
churchyard at Lundie. Her
obituary in the Gentleman’s Magazine of 1832 reads in part: “Her many
amiable qualities and her fascinating manners will long endear the memory of
Lady Duncan. She continued in possession of all her faculties to her advanced
age.”

LADY WALLACE(‘S REEL)
[1]. Scottish, Reel. G Minor. Standard
tuning. AAB. The air was first published as "Lady Wallace's Reel" by Robert 'Red Rob' Mackintosh in his Airs, Minuets, Gavotts and Reels, c. 1783.
There is a report that Gow published it in his Repository, Part Second, 1802, as "Lady Wallace," but
without crediting Mackintosh, however, by the third edition of the work
(published by Purdie with corrections by Nathaniel Gow)
Mackintosh’s name appears with the tune. Carlin (Gow Collection), 1986; No. 451. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 2, 1802; pg. 14.

LADY WALPOLE'S REEL [1].
AKA and see "Boston Fancy [1],"
"Ladies' Walpole Reel,"
"Massai's Favorite."
Scottish, American; Reel. USA; New England. B Flat Major(Howe, Phillips): G Major (Sweet). Standard
tuning. AABB. "Lady Walpole's Reel" is the name of a tune and a
country dance, known also as "Boston Fancy.” Linscott (Folk Music of Old New England, 1939)
says that it is "evidently a variety of Weavers' Dance belonging to the
craftsmen of the Weavers' Guild,” although he does not give any evidence to
sustain or further explain his claim. Tony Parkes and Steve Woodruff (1980)
note that it is one of the few dance melodies composed without a single
repeated measure, and the dance itself was one of the first contras in which
active couples crossed in the beginning, leading to the intermingling of sexes
through the dance. Curiously, in the course of the dance one swings every other
person in the set except one’s partner (who only gets a courtesy turn in the
‘ladies chain’ figure). Lore has it that this is because Lady Walpole hated to
dance with her husband!It has been
suggested (by, for one, Louie W. Attebery in his article "The Fiddle Tune:
An American Artifact" {1979}) that the name change from "Lady
Walpole's Reel" to “Boston Fancy" came about due to anti-British
sentiments during the War of 1812. The melody was apparently once quite popular, for it appears in White’s Unique Collection included in a
page of reels labelled “Six Favorite Reels,” in the company of such
still-familiar tunes as “Miss McLeod’s Reel,” “Arkansas Traveller,” “Devil’s
Dream,” “Old Zip Coon” and “Ned Kendall’s Favorite.” Howe prints
instructions for a contra-dance to the tune.

***

It is not known which Lady Walpole
to whom the title might refer. However, one, Dorothy Walpole (1686—1726), the
sister of Robert Walpole who became Prime Minister of England in 1722, has a
sad and poignant tale to tell. Dorothy fell in love with a man named Charles
Townsend, Second Viscount Townsend, whom she longed to marry. Unfortunately her
father forbade the union, and eventually Townsend married another, sending
Dorothy into a depression and an affair with a broke and profligate Lord Wharton.
Presently, in 1711, Townsend’s first wife died (of unknown causes), and he and
Dorothy resumed their relationship, marrying two years later.All seemed to be well until Townsend
discovered that Dorothy had not severed her relationship with Wharton after the
wedding, but had continued her affair.Furious, he locked her in her apartments in Raynham Hall, isolated from
her family, her children and the outside world.She was still a prisoner when she died in 1726, at the age of 40,
of smallpox (although some say she died of a broken heart, or even from a
broken neck from a staircase ‘accident’). As tragic and distasteful as the
story is, however, it probably would have been forgotten save for subsequent
events. In the 19th century Raynham Hall was still in Townsend hands
when apparitions began to appear to a number of distinguished visitors, among
them King George IV, who reported having seen a ghostly apparition in a brown
satin dress, who stared down at him while he was a-bed.Soon after, a Colonel Loftus saw the same
apparition, with the added detail that the woman’s eyes sockets were
empty.Finally, a decade or so later
author Captain Frederick Marryat was invited to stay at the Hall.He patiently waited for several days until
he was rewarded with her apparition as he strolled down a hallway.Alarmed by a somewhat sinister grin on the
face of the ghost, he fired a pistol at her, and when he had recovered from the
shock, she had disappeared. The Brown Lady of Raynham, as the ghost came to be
called, was still occasionally seen by visitors well into the 20th
century.

LADY WASHINGTON’S REEL. American, Reel. “Lady Washington’s
Reel” is a dance first appearing at the end of the 18th century. It was
retained in dance repertoire and was a staple New England contra dance of the
19th century. Dance instructions were published in J. Trumbull’s Gentleman’s
and Lady’s Companion; Containing, the Newest Cotillions and Country Dances, to
Which is Added, Instances of Ill Manners; to be carefully avoided by Youth of
both sexes. (1798) and Nathan Allen’s Select Country Dances (New
Hampshire, 1799). Trumbull suggests using “York
Fusiliers” as the vehicle for the dance.Okeh Records 45073 (78 RPM), Plymouth Vermont
Orchestra.

LADYHILL. Scottish, Reel. E Flat Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by William
Macpherson. Neil (1991) explains that Ladyhill is situated at the northern
extremity of the High Street in the town of Elgin, and was named after the
chapel of the Virgin Mary which was originally in the bounds of the old Royal
Castle, now a ruin. A column and statue is situated at the top of the hill,
erected to the memory of the last Duke of Gordon. The old castle dates from the
11th century and was originally erected to protect the region from pirates and
marauders, and against the opposition of neighboring towns. "A curious
tradition, which is also told of the Castle of Lochindorb in Cromdale,
preserves the memory of its English occupation under Edward I and its recovery
by the Scots.It is said that the
'pestilence long hovered over it' in the shape of 'a dark blue vapour' until it
was 'by one sudden great exertion pulled down and buried in the hill'"
(Neil, 1991). Neil (The Scots Fiddle),
1991; No. 73, pg. 97.

LADYKIRK HOUSE. Scottish, Jig (9/8 time). A Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by Nathaniel Gow
(1763-1831). Ladykirk
House, Monkton, Berwickshire, was a manor built in 1797 on the northern
(Scottish) side of the River Tweed, across from Norham, England. The area was a
favorite fording-place for warring armies back and forth. It was originally
called Upsettlington until James IV nearly drowned trying to cross the Tweed,
and, in thanks for his delivery, built a church near the spot (thus changing
the name to Ladykirk). The manor was demolished in 1966. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 343. Gow
(Fifth Collection of Strathspey Reels), 1809; pg. 22.

LADY'S EARRING, THE. Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle).
AB. See also the related reel “Matt
Peoples [3].” Source for notated version: manuscripts in the possession of
Chicago Police Sergeant James O’Neill, originally from County Down; many from
the playing of his father [O’Neill]. O’Neill (Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody), 1922; No. 258.

X:1

T:Lady's Earring, The

M:4/4

L:1/8

S:Sergt. James O'Neill's manuscripts

Z:Paul Kinder

R:Reel

K:D

FAAc dABG | FAdF GFED | FAAc d2 eg | fdec dABG |

FAAc dABG | FAdF GFED | FAAc d2 eg | fdec d2 ||

A2 | d2 dB ceAc | d2 df egce | d2 dB ceag | fdec d2 (3ABc |

d2
dB ceAc | d2 df egce | d2 dB ceag | fdec dABG ||

LADY’S EXPOSTULATION
WITH ROB ROY, THE (Aslachadh na
baintighearna).
Scottish, Slow Air (3/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. In May,
1751, the heiress of Edinbelly was abducted and forced to marry. The culprit,
according to Fraser, was Rob Roy MacGregor, although Fraser's editor noted that
it was not the famous outlaw but in fact was his youngest son Rob Og who was
involved. Like many an outlaw, Rob Roy had many more crimes attributed to him
than he could have possibly committed, but the real Rob Roy was pardoned and
died in his own house at Balquhidder while Rob Og was executed for the
kidnapping. Be that as it may, the ballad names Rob Roy and Fraser notes that
it "should have been placed before that of (the tune) "Rob Roy,”
being the lady's supposed expostulation with him, whilst he, regardless of her
entreaties, struck up with the voice of a ferocious ruffian, the sonorous
strathspey which follows, importing 'Come awa', Lady Fair,' &c."
(Fraser, 1874). See also "Rob Roy
MacGregor." Fraser (The Airs and
Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1874; No.
192, p. 80.

X:1

T:Lady’s Expostulation with Rob Roy, The

T:Aslachadh na baintighearna

M:3/4

L:1/8

R:Air

S:Fraser Collection(1874)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s
Companion

K:G

d2|g4 d>c|B3 ABG|g4 d>B|c4e2|=fe d2c2|B3 ABG|B3
cdB|[B4g4]:|

|:d2|g3ab2|a2g2f2|g2d2B2|c4B2|=fed2c2|B3
ABG|B3 cdB|[B4g4]:|

LADY'S FALL. AKA and see "Peascod Time,"
"Chevy Chase." English, Air. The title comes from a ballad to the
tune of "Peascod Time," which became so popular that the air was
often called by that name.

LADY'S LAMENTATION. AKA and see "The Blackbird."
American. "The Blackbird" was collected under this title by Bayard
(1981) from Indiana County, Pa., fifer John Kirkpatrick‑‑it is the
title to the original 17th‑century broadside.

LADY'S WAIST RIBBON. AKA - "Waist Ribbon." Old‑Time, Breakdown. USA, West
Virginia. D Major. Standard tuning. AB (Krassen): AAB (Phillips). Very similar
to "Folding Down the
Sheets” (see note for that tune for more on the tune family) His father’s
playing of this tune late at night so moved fiddler Melvin Wine as a boy that
he would lie in bed crying. Wine remembered being deeply moved, though he could
identify no reason why this should be so, only that something in the music “touched
me all over” (Milnes, 1999, pg. 6). Sources for notated versions: Melvin Wine
(Braxton County, W.Va.) [Krassen]; Armin Barnett (Seattle) [Phillips]. Krassen
(Masters of Old Time Fiddling), 1983;
pg. 53‑54. Phillips (Traditional
American Fiddle Tunes, vol. 1), 1994; pg. 135. Poplar LP1, Melvin Wine‑ "Cold Frosty
Morning."